


Freshman Summer

by theinfamousjeri



Category: Chuck (TV)
Genre: College, Community: chuck_slash, Flashback, Geeky, M/M, Pre-Canon, Pre-Slash, Stanford Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-17
Updated: 2010-08-17
Packaged: 2017-10-11 03:22:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/107796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theinfamousjeri/pseuds/theinfamousjeri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bryce and Chuck go home for the summer, but Bryce has a hard time letting go. Maybe his roommate has gotten under his skin...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Freshman Summer

The summer arrived fast and furious that year.

It was late May 2000, the first summer of the new millennium, and it also happened to be the summer after Bryce and Chuck's freshman year.

The year had gone by incredibly fast, and before they knew it, Chuck and Bryce had accomplished the impressive task of passing all of their classes, pledging Gamma Delta Phi, programming their own version of Zork, and becoming best friends, all in the span of nine months.

When it came time to pack up their belongings and head back to their respective homes, most of the fraternity brothers were eager to leave behind their cramped, close living quarters and party it up for the summer.

That is, except for two of them.

"So, I guess this is it," Chuck began, offering a weak smile as he dropped his last Star Trek VHS into an oversized Samsonite suitcase.

Chuck couldn't help but notice the sound that the video cassette made as it hit the stack of sweatshirts that he had already stuffed into the bag.

Everything about the room seemed heavy, unmoving, resolute.

Chuck wished that he could will his own feet to move, but they were firmly cemented to the worn red carpet under his feet.

He turned his gaze slowly to his dark-haired roommate, searching for any reaction from the other man.

Bryce's head was turned away from Chuck, and he was occupied with a false sense of urgency, shoulders tense and rigid as he shoved his clothes into his own suitcase.

He was concentrating so hard on packing his luggage that Chuck could have sworn that Bryce didn't hear a single word that he just said.

"Bryce, hey, what's wrong?" Chuck began, lowering a tentative hand above Bryce's shoulder. He sighed and let his hand drop to his side, sensing that Bryce needed his space.

"It's nothing, Chuck. I just- I just have to get all of this put away by noon. We're leaving for the airport at one," Bryce replied breathlessly, his voice unusually curt and distant.

"Are you sure nothing's bothering you, buddy? You seem stressed out," Chuck asked cautiously. He desperately wanted to look Bryce in the eye and find out what was really going on, but he didn't want to further upset his friend.

"Chuck, could you hand me my headphones?" Bryce asked suddenly.

Chuck was startled by Bryce's sudden request, but he grabbed them from his bed and tossed them over to Bryce.

"Bryce, whatever's bothering you, man-," Chuck offered, stepping closer to his friend.

Bryce's head snapped up and he shot Chuck an intense glare.

"It's nothing, Chuck. Just- just please, give it a rest," he said with a sigh.

Chuck nodded slowly, brow still furrowed with worry as he watched Bryce rush around the room and haphazardly throw his last few possessions into his suitcase.

When he was finally done, Bryce exhaled slowly and sat down on the edge of his bed. He fell onto his back and closed his eyes momentarily, hands flying to his temples in an attempt to assuage his apparently killer headache.

"Bryce, are you all right?" Chuck asked softly, voice almost inaudible.

He hated to probe, but Bryce's behavior had certainly been abnormal lately.

He was usually carefree, happy, and relaxed when he was around Chuck.

"I'm fine, Chuck. I just-," he faltered, wincing against the throbbing pain in his temples.

"Talk to me, man. I'm all ears," Chuck said supportively.

"I don't want to go back yet," Bryce whispered.

"What? Why not, Bryce?" Chuck asked carefully.

"I don't know. I can't really explain it. I mean, I'll have the house all to myself for most of the summer, but then there'll be the parties and the relatives, and the people who will ask me what the hell I've been doing and what I want to do with my life. I know it doesn't sound that bad, but it's just... boring, I guess. I can't really be myself out there," Bryce said quickly, rushing through his words like a sinner in a confessional booth.  
Chuck sat in silence for a few moments and then smiled at his friend.

"You know, you can always visit with us for a while. Ellie's only home once in a while, and Morgan crashes there pretty often, but it could be fun," he said.

Bryce's eyes softened and he turned away from Chuck, embarrassed by the emotion in his eyes.

"Thanks, Chuck," he said quickly, feeling a grin twitching at the corner of his lips.

"I mean it, Bryce. You can do whatever you want- get up and run at 6 am, sleep in and play Super Smash Brothers, or just check out downtown LA," Chuck replied with a bright grin.

Bryce felt his face melt into a smile, and he cursed his overly gleeful countenance.

"What the hell, Bryce? You are supposed to be the master of your own destiny, and you're grinning like an idiot at the prospect of playing video games and sleeping in?" he thought angrily.

The anger was fleeting, however, and Chuck's infectious smile and attitude chased away his remaining cynicism.

To hell with his upbrining. Bryce Larkin was going to do nothing all summer and enjoy himself, damn it!

The loud buzzing of a cell phone vibrating interrupted Bryce's train of thought.

It was his father.

"Chuck, I think we're ready to go," Bryce began slowly, trying to ignore the dread that was creeping into his heart.

"Sure, Bryce. Do you need any help with your stuff?" Chuck asked with a smile.

"No thanks," Bryce replied quickly.

He hauled the suit case towards the door and paused.

"Actually, if you could get the door, that would be great," he said, managing a small grin as Chuck swung the door open for him.

"Bryce, the offer still stands. Let me know if you want to visit for a few days. You know that I won't be doing anything, so any time is good," Chuck said.  
Bryce nodded in reply and turned his head away from Chuck.

There was something so bright, so radiant, so unattainably happy about Chuck, despite his circumstances and family history.

He always enjoyed being around Chuck, but something was changing. It wasn't the closeness of their living quarters or their Tron and Star Trek nights.  
Instead, it was the separation.

A summer without Chuck's buoyant optimism and enjoyment of life seemed empty to him, and Bryce was already beginning to dread the flight home to Connecticut.

He knew that he shouldn't be so affected by the prospect of being separated from his roommate for 3 months, but he was.

Bryce couldn't put a name to his feelings, but he knew that he couldn't draw this out any further.

He bid Chuck a hasty good-bye at the front door of the frat house, offering a hand and receiving a hug in return.

Bryce's eyes widened at the gesture, but he didn't fight it.

Instead, he rather enjoyed it, but he chalked it up to friendship.

Friendship and sentimentality.

That, and the fact that he would miss all those Legend of Zelda references and half-whispered Klingon curse words.

He shook the thought from his mind as Chuck waved good-bye, smiling broadly and obliviously as Bryce flashed a smile and darted down the path to the limo that was waiting for him out front.

Bryce stowed his suitcase in the trunk, but he retrieved one item before locking his belongings away.

He snaked his headphone wire into his pocket, connecting it to a hidden mp3 player as he flicked the "on" switch and leaned back.

The opening strains of Vertical Horizon's "Everything You Want" filled his ears, and Bryce couldn't help but grin.

It was going to be a long summer, but he knew that Chuck had designed that playlist for him, and that fact alone would make the flight home almost bearable.

End.


End file.
